Jane E. Batson

Jane Elizabeth Batson, 67, of Roswell passed away on Saturday, September 27, 2014. A memorial service will be held at 2:00pm Friday, October 3, 2014 at Grace Community Church. Jane was born on September 6, 1947 in Amarillo, Texas to Thomas and Gladys Scott. She is survived by her husband of 42 years, Jack Batson, their son John Batson, his wife, Karen, and their daughter, Elizabeth, of Temple, Texas, and daughter, Shannon Batson, of Roswell. Jane was known for her dedication to public service and to the betterment of life in Chaves County and New Mexico. Throughout her career, she has been passionate about helping others and improving the lives of those who are less fortunate. She has done much of this through her grantwriting of over 30 years, which has seen millions of dollars come through her community projects. A few of her special projects include: UNITY (Understanding Needs in Today’s Youth) Center, ENMU-Roswell Community Dental Van and Clinic, Chaves County Community Pharmacy, among many others. Most recently, Jane’s projects have come under the umbrella of Embrace, Inc. Many of these are as a result of the Community Transformation Grant. It is from the NM Department of Health with the major activities designed to increase healthy lifestyles and healthy nutrition thus reducing the incidence of chronic illness like diabetes and high blood pressure. An integral part of this project is getting people access to fresh fruits and vegetables in their communities, including Roswell, Dexter, Hagerman and Lake Arthur through the Roadrunner Food Pantry program. In Lake Arthur, Jane was able to start a community garden program there and also partner with an Americorps team this last summer to get this project off the ground. Through this project, Jane also developed a partnership with Blue Cross Blue Shield of NM in their Move with Blue program, including BCBS’s purchase of the Kaboom Imagination Playground to be used for community events and school programs to encourage play and creativity. Throughout her lifetime of service, Jane has received many awards and achievements for her work in the community and state-wide. If you knew Jane, you knew that she put her passion behind her projects not for the notoriety, but to see the community she loved succeed. If Jane could be a part of helping Roswell and the surrounding community, she was going to do it. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be sent to Embrace, Inc., PO Box 4425, Roswell, NM 88202. The programs that Jane helped get started that are currently under Embrace include: La Puerta Abierta, women’s health outreach services and a homeless clinic staffed by volunteer physicians, with future plans for a homeless shelter, especially designed for homeless veterans; UNITY Center for teenagers including suicide prevention programs; Roadrunner Food Pantry; Douglas L. McBride Veteran’s Cemetery. Many of Jane’s projects are still moving forward under Embrace, Inc., and their Executive Director, Nathan Padilla, and she would have loved to see this work continue in her absence. If you have any questions, please contact Nathan at 575.623.1220 or 575.840.1075.

Jane E. Batson

September 6, 1947 - September 27, 2014